Rent Control: its Costly Repercussions

This article examines the theory and practice of rent control in the UK and elsewhere in order to contribute to the important debate on the future of the private rental sector in the UK. Our opposition to rent and eviction controls is unequivocal. We shall show that wherever rent control has been imposed the effects have been, at best, adverse and at worst, appalling. The effects on the quantity and quality of a housing stock can be so devastating that one Swedish socialist economist, Assar Lindbeck (1967) concluded: “In many cases rent control appears to be the most efficient technique presently known to destroy a city — except for bombing.” Controls which lead to an excess demand for housing foster unfortunate practices such a discrimination on various grounds other than willingness and ability to pay rent, and the creation of a black market. Rent and eviction controls also have a major impact on the mobility of labour. The encouragement to immobility can lead to the perpetuation of structural imbalances in an economy prompting rigidities which can have considerable economic and social costs.     

THREE WAYS OF HELPING MARRIED COUPLES

Today, marriage has changed from a one-vote to a two-vote system. This offers a better relationship, but it is more difficult to manage, and, consequently, there are many failures. Two solutions are currently being offered: (a) education as information-giving, which is often not acted upon; and (b) therapy, which can come too late to be effective. Both systems must be retained. But a third process, marriage enrichment, applies our new knowledge preventively, promises to be more effective, and needs to be more widely understood and applied.     

Using the Biological Two-Stage Model to Assess Risk from Short-Term Exposures

Two assumptions used in risk assessment are investigated: (1) the assumption of fraction of lifetime dose rate assumes that the risk from a fractional lifetime exposure at a given dose rate is equal to the risk from full lifetime exposure at that same fraction of the given dose rate; (2) the assumption of fraction of lifetime risk assumes that the risk from a fractional lifetime exposure at a given dose rate is equal to that same fraction of the risk from full lifetime exposure at the same dose rate. These two assumptions are equivalent when risk is a linear function of dose. Thus both can be thought of as generalizations of the assumption that cancer risk is proportional to the total accumulated lifetime dose (or average daily dose), which is often made to assess the risk from short-term exposures. In this paper, the age-specific cumulative hazard functions are derived using the two-stage model developed by Moolgavkar, Venzon, and Knudson for situations when the exposure occurs during a single period or a single instant. The two assumptions described above are examined for three types of carcinogens, initiator, completer, and promoter, in the context of the model. For initiator and completer, these two assumptions are equivalent in the low-dose region; for a promoter, using the fraction of lifetime risk assumption is generally more conservative than that of the fraction of lifetime dose rate assumption. Tables are constructed to show that the use of either the fraction of lifetime dose rate assumption or the fraction lifetime risk assumption can both underestimate and overestimate the true risk for the three types of carcinogens.     

Enjoyment of destruction: The role of uncertainty

Enjoyment is frequently associated with acts of destruction. It is posited that enjoyment derived from observing or engaging in destruction is related to the stimulus characteristics of the object being destroyed. Specifically, the factors that determine a person's enjoyment of aesthetic stimuli should also affect one's response to destruction. In the present experiment one stimulus characteristic was studied—uncertainty concerning the breaking of a pane of glass. Subjects observed a film in which three panes of glass broke immediately upon being struck, but the fourth pane of glass broke on either the first strike (low uncertainty) or the third strike (high uncertainty). Results indicated that subjects enjoyed the breaking more in the high-uncertainty condition, that is, when they were more uncertain about when the glass would break. The findings support the aesthetic theory of destruction and also have implications for design.     

Prediction for generalized linear models

Regression models are often used to make predictions. All the information needed is contained in the predictive distribution. However, this cannot be evaluated explicitly for most generalized linear models. We construct two approximations to this distribution and demonstrate their use on two sets of survival data, corresponding to the outcome of patients admitted to intensive care units and the survival times of leukaemia patients.Regression models are often used to make predictions. All the information needed is contained in the predictive distribution. However, this cannot be evaluated explicitly for most generalized linear models. We construct two approximations to this distribution and demonstrate their use on two sets of survival data, corresponding to the outcome of patients admitted to intensive care units and the survival times of leukaemia patients.Regression models are often used to make predictions. All the information needed is contained in the predictive distribution. However, this cannot be evaluated explicitly for most generalized linear models. We construct two approximations to this distribution and demonstrate their use on two sets of survival data, corresponding to the outcome of patients admitted to intensive care units and the survival times of leukaemia patients.Regression models are often used to make predictions. All the information needed is contained in the predictive distribution. However, this cannot be evaluated explicitly for most generalized linear models. We construct two approximations to this distribution and demonstrate their use on two sets of survival data, corresponding to the outcome of patients admitted to intensive care units and the survival times of leukaemia patients.     

Gonzo Justice

The role of public discourse, social control, punishment and claims about justice are joined in this essay through the concept of gonzo justice. Gonzo justice refers to the use of extraordinary means to demonstrate social control and moral compliance through rule enforcement and punishment designed to stigmatize publicly, often through the mass media, and to demonstrate the moral resolve of those mandating the punishment. The collapsing of distinctions between the news media as chroniclers of public life and formal agents of control is illustrated with materials from an ongoing study of new forms of social control. The implications of making extraordinary sanctioning practices ordinary and routine are noted.